At the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, Mercedes experienced their first double “Did Not Finish” (DNF) at a Formula One race in more than five years, adding to the already poor start to the season. Lewis Hamilton retired early, while George Russell crashed out late.
Russell skidded into the gravel at Turn Six and ended up crashing into a barrier at the finish of the race, while seven-time world champion Hamilton completed 17 laps at Albert Park before coming to a stop due to a power unit failure.
Mercedes have not experienced a double DNF since Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas had to withdraw from the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix due to technical issues.
Mercedes has now fallen to fifth in the constructors’ championship behind leaders Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin after gaining 0 points in a race won by Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.
“It’s extremely difficult to handle,” dejected team manager Toto Wolff told reporters. “And I would be lying if I said I was feeling upbeat and optimistic about the circumstances; instead, you must get past your persistently pessimistic thoughts and declare, ‘We will turn this around.'”
“But today it feels very, very brutal.”
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After six world championships with Mercedes, Hamilton will join Ferrari in 2025, and he might be counting down the days until he leaves.
The British driver has never had a worse start to an F1 season, having only eight points from the opening three races.
One day after qualifying eleventh, his lowest finish at Albert Park since 2010, Hamilton suffered a setback on Sunday.
While he tried to remain optimistic and emphasize that things could be worse, he acknowledged that the challenges faced by Mercedes’ W15 car were hard on the soul.
“I think for everyone in the team, when so much work is going on throughout the winter for everybody, you come in excited, motivated and driven, and then you’re with the mindset that you’re going to be fighting for wins,” he said.
“And then, of course, that is untrue. After that, you think, “Okay, maybe second, third.” No, that’s not true, and it descends a little bit more. And you merely perform the actions. It’s difficult.”
Throughout the weekend, the Mercedes vehicles experienced handling issues, bouncing, and difficulties around fast turns.
Wolff stated that the crew was still baffled by the performance issues.
“We must delve far enough,” he continued.
